Let there be Light : Bike Lighting, HID etc

[HydBiker]

White light forms a screen in rainy/foggy conditions.... even in many dusty conditions. the screen is reflective (by the rain/fog/dust particles in front of you) and you can hardly see anything.

That's why people use yellow lights.

I never thought it could be so bad until I got caught in fog with my night breaker. I could see better with the light off.

[shadez]

^ the science involved here is amazing. i ended up with learning mach bands, light composition (UV...), properties of light, etc.
yeah but it end with reflection. something like, 'you can read out of a white paper more clearly than yellow or any other color.' same science holds good here. zimple!

[velociraptor13]

Originally Posted by Mindgrinder

thnx for quick reply wht abt warranty?

warranty mite get void

[Mindgrinder]

Originally Posted by velociraptor13

warranty mite get void

thnx a ton velociraptor

[sankar]

Originally Posted by shadez

thought i should put up this question: how do the HID's perform in rainy conditions?

yesterday it rained a bit here in Bangalore and the HID was more or less creating a kinda 'fog wall' in front of me. visibility got highly reduced. anybody experienced the same?
my HID is 1.5yrs old now and the spread is wider comparatively from first fit.

What's the colour temperature of your HID? Diffraction in adverse conditions will depend a lot on the colour temp. It rained here yesterday and i had to ride back home in the rains.. my 6000k hid dint diffract much and still put out useful beam to see ahead.

[Srijan]

Can anybody throw some light on the difference between a HID and a nightbreaker? I see a huge difference in the price!

[chetanpulsar]

Originally Posted by Srijan

Can anybody throw some light on the difference between a HID and a nightbreaker? I see a huge difference in the price!

HID is a type of lighting technology... read this

and nightbreaker (normal bulb) is a brand name of Osram bulbs.... Osram Nightbreaker bulbs.

AFAIK HIDs have far better lighting compared to normal bulbs, hence the cost difference.

[shadez]

Originally Posted by sankar

What's the colour temperature of your HID? Diffraction in adverse conditions will depend a lot on the colour temp. It rained here yesterday and i had to ride back home in the rains.. my 6000k hid dint diffract much and still put out useful beam to see ahead.

8000k.....

[sankar]

Originally Posted by shadez

8000k.....

No wonder! The best HID colour temp for riding/driving is 4300k or anything between 4000k and 5000k. This is the OEM HID colour temperature which comes in all OEM HID headlamps like Octavia, Corolla Altis etc. These lights have more yellow in their output, and is not easily diffracted.

The next best option is 6000k, which will contain a bit of blue tinge to it but not much. Anything above 6000k has lots of blue in it and the light will get easily diffracted. That's what you were experiencing!

As colour temp goes up, amount of useful light decreases. As colour temp goes up lumens (light output) also decrease.

Chooose 4300k if you have an option otherwise 6000k. Don't go above that for efficient lighting.

[atulaherwar]

awrite guys.....

i reallli dnt have much *infact no* understanding of headlamps n lights.....


i have a nov'08 rtr refresh.....

now considerin wat u guys posted...
i guess the night breakers shud fit in my budget...


but if i wait for a month i can get my hands on HID...


now given both the options...

how will be the installations n fitting? any sort of adjustments of "winding" has to be done.... im a real layman in this ...so plz help out on this....

i have a lot of night travelling...almost 40 kms daily at nite... so suggestions will be highly appreciated...

P.S. i stay in mumbai..so approx cost n availability if included wud be great